Protests at G20 Meeting in Istanbul, Turkey

G20s' Assistants of Finance Ministers and Assistants of Central Bank Gouvernors gathered in Istanbul on 18th and 19th (today) February. During todays's session in Hotel Hyatt Regency about 60-70 anarchist activists organised a (quite short) demonstration in front of Hotel and protested the meeting, G20s and capitalist system. Their slogans written on banners were "Capitalism kills", "Graft 20" and so on. 52 of them were arrested by security forces and all activists faced a very strong police violent.

Furthermore, our group prepared and published a public announcement in the early of last week to inform public opinion that G20s would be held in Istanbul to discuss their positions for the next WTO Ministerial Conferance in Doha. The English version of this announcement is as follows.

By Gaye Yilmaz

TO THE PUBLIC OPINION

Assistants of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Gouvernors of G20 platform which is one of several global and regional blocks and also has a engine role for the globalisation of capitalist system will come together in their first meeting in this year in Istanbul on 18th and 19th February 2001.

Turkey will be represented on the level of Treasury Undersecretary at the meeting. Some important topics of their agenda are

to take steps in order to take decisions on national and international levels to minimise the negative impacts of globalisation and to ensure that all sides can benefit from globalisation (win-win process) and

to determine the new steps which is needed to push international trade ???

As it could be understood from the agenda, these topics are very important and could be dangerous for the future of workers and other poor groups in developing countries.

However, all we know that on the back side of this picture there are huge interests of local bourgeois of G20 countries. The cost of these interests will be paid by peoples of these developing countries. There is no doubt that in Doha, they will agree on the lowest standards for worker class with developed G7s. To sum up; all people around the world will be witness a new show and similar explanations will follow each other : " We did our best, but developing countries want to attract foreign investors to their regions- who are very rightful- and it's therefore they don't accept to implement social and environmental standards"

The decisons which will be associated with this anti-labour agenda like in Seattle, Davos, Prag and Nice will be passed from Great National Assembly of Turkey without any discussion or objection thanks to "fast track" which was adopted on 9th February 2001.

No doubt that the implementation of these decisions will be controlled and followed by the IMF and World Bank.